Business

Lee Baker and Marco Derhy Expand Stan Lee’s LEGION OF 5 Through Film, Gaming and AI-Assisted Production

August 24, 2026

By: Ashley Slimmerts

Through complementary creative and business leadership, Baker and Derhy are guiding the franchise across entertainment formats, supported by the patent-pending PARALIGHT platform.

BEVERLY HILLS, Ca.

Lee Baker and Marco Derhy are continuing their joint effort to develop Stan Lee’s LEGION OF 5 into a broader entertainment franchise. Their long-running collaboration has helped shape the property’s creative direction, production plans, technology strategy and commercial path. Today, that work extends across feature film, gaming, interactive media and AI-assisted production through Paralight Studios and Legion Digital Studios.

As the principal producers behind Stan Lee’s LEGION OF 5, Baker and Derhy oversee the franchise together while contributing different areas of expertise. Baker is also the film’s screenwriter and director, the founder and CEO of PARALIGHT and a co-founder of Legion Digital Studios. Derhy works as a producer and partner with Paralight Studios and co-founded Legion Digital Studios with Baker.

Their partnership reaches across creative development, production, financing, technology, marketing, and long-term business planning. Baker leads much of the screenwriting, directing, visual development and filmmaking technology work. Derhy brings hands-on production, project packaging, financing and distribution relationships, casting connections, strategic partnerships, international outreach, and global marketing. Together, they have built the groundwork for the franchise’s next stage.

“This announcement reflects what Lee and Marco have built together as partners over time, combining their strengths across the board with one shared objective: to strengthen Stan Lee’s LEGION OF 5, preserve the creative foundation Stan established, and build the production, technology, business and global platform needed to take this universe into its next chapter. LEGION OF 5 has always had tremendous creative potential, and this partnership has allowed us to approach that potential from every side. What we have achieved together gives us a stronger foundation for where we intend to take the franchise next.”

Carrying Forward Stan Lee’s Original Vision

The story and characters of LEGION OF 5 were created by Stan Lee during the property’s early development with POW! Entertainment. His original creative credit remains a defining part of the project’s identity as it moves forward.

Photo Courtesy: Lee Baker (StanLee_Brighton Meeting)

The project first became public in 2008. At that time, Stan Lee and POW! Entertainment worked with Brighton Partners and Rainmaker Entertainment to develop LEGION OF 5 as a computer-animated superhero property. From the outset, it was conceived as a cross-platform franchise with possibilities in film, comics, games, merchandise and digital distribution.

Baker entered the project after Brighton Partners invited his former company, Sandman Studios Entertainment, to provide artwork and visual effects. He and his team remained involved as LEGION OF 5 developed, and Baker later wrote the screenplay and joined the film as director.

That earlier history is separate from the present-day production and corporate roles through which Baker and Derhy are now advancing the property.

Developing a Connected LEGION OF 5 Universe

Stan Lee’s LEGION OF 5 centers on five young people who unexpectedly gain extraordinary powers. As they face a super-powered enemy and challenges in their personal lives, they must learn how to function as a team.

The long-term plan reaches beyond a single feature film. It includes potential sequels and episodic stories, animation, video games, licensing, merchandise, digital narratives and immersive forms of entertainment, all connected within the same universe.

Photo Courtesy: Lee Baker (Approved historical image of Stan Lee connected to the original LEGION OF 5 development period)

One planned extension is LEGION CHAMPIONS, a video game concept located within the same fictional world and intended to give audiences another way to experience the property beyond the film.

Co-founded by Baker and Derhy, Legion Digital Studios, LLC serves as a focused production and business vehicle for film and television development. It also explores opportunities in gaming and other entertainment sectors, supported by PARALIGHT AI technology and additional emerging production tools.

PARALIGHT’s Human-Focused Approach to AI-Assisted Filmmaking

Baker founded PARALIGHT and serves as its CEO. The patent-pending, AI-powered filmmaking platform is designed as a connected environment that helps creators translate written ideas into visual production materials.

Its tools address several parts of the filmmaking workflow, from screenwriting, character and scene development to shot planning, storyboards, visual generation, dialogue and other production tasks.

PARALIGHT is built around the idea that AI should assist the people who make films, not displace them. Its human-centered model is intended to support actors, writers, directors, producers, visual effects artists and other creative professionals while leaving artistic judgment, performance and creative authorship in human hands.

A concept trailer for Stan Lee’s LEGION OF 5 was created with PARALIGHT to show how AI-assisted tools can help visualize and develop an entertainment property. The story, performances, direction, tone, and meaning remain the responsibility of the human team.

Using PARALIGHT in the development workflow brings LEGION OF 5 together with both established filmmaking practice and newer production technology.

About Lee Baker

Lee Baker is a filmmaker, screenwriter, author, visual effects executive and technology entrepreneur. His career has included film, visual effects, animation, interactive media, video games, education and technology development. This combination of creative and technical experience has been important to the continued development of Stan Lee’s LEGION OF 5. Baker formerly owned and led Sandman Studios Entertainment and wrote Speed of Light, Humbug: A Christmas Carol and Beau and the Beanstalk.

About Marco Derhy

Marco Derhy is a Beverly Hills-based entrepreneur, film producer, author and philanthropist who founded Derhy Enterprises, Inc. and serves as its CEO. He contributes decades of experience in entrepreneurship, production, financing, marketing, business development, and international ventures.

After completing military service, Derhy relocated to Los Angeles and established a private-label fashion company while still in his early twenties. He grew it into a sizable operation before expanding into film production and distribution, real estate development, emerging technology, global business development, and humanitarian projects.

Derhy’s career has involved negotiations and professional relationships with prominent entertainment and business leaders, among them producer Robert Evans and former Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone. He is now applying that entrepreneurial background and international perspective to the continued development and worldwide growth of the LEGION OF 5 universe.

About PARALIGHT

Founded by Lee Baker, PARALIGHT is a patent-pending, AI-powered filmmaking platform created to assist with writing, development, preproduction, visual development, production, and postproduction. Within the larger partnership, Paralight Studios develops and produces entertainment projects through human-centered, AI-assisted workflows.

About Legion Digital Studios

Legion Digital Studios, LLC is a film and entertainment financing and production company established by Lee Baker and Marco Derhy. It develops film and television projects and evaluates opportunities in gaming and other entertainment fields, with PARALIGHT AI technology supporting its work.